Nevada editor heads international association

Steve Ranson, right, is installed as the new president of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors by outgoing president David Gordon during the organization's recent meeting in Washington, D.C.

Congratulations to Steve Ranson, editor of the Lahontan Valley News, who recently was elected president of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors.

Ranson is past president of the Nevada Press Association and a member of the NPA board. He’s been editor of the LVN for more than nine years.

ISWNE includes members around the world including Australia, Nepal, South Africa, England, Canada and the United States. Most recently, ISWNE has joined other media groups to advocate a strong freedom of the press in all countries.

Ranson has been a member of the organization since 2009 and served on the board of directors since 2014.

If you’re not familiar with ISWNE, I recommend you check it out — especially if you, like many small-community newspaper editors, need some advice or commiseration or fraternity with colleagues. I’ve been reading the newsletter for years now, and it’s always encouraging to see how dedicated they are in defending the First Amendment, barking at the heels of their local governments and finding ways to be vital in an age of shifting media.

As the story notes, Ranson has been a community journalist for more than 30 years, beginning as a reporter with the Wells Progress at the same time he taught English and journalism at Wells High School. He moved to Fallon in 1986 after spending two years in the Republic of Panama as a Department of Defense teacher and as a military broadcast officer and reporter for the U.S. SOUTHCOM’S SCN Radio-TV Network located at the U.S. Army base in Fort Clayton.

For more than half his military career in the Nevada Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve, Ranson held assignments as a community relations officer, broadcast officer and press officer. After he retired from the military in 2009 as a lieutenant colonel, he traveled twice to Afghanistan to embed with Nevada Army National Guard units.

Barry Smith

Barry Smith, a former reporter and editor in Illinois, Colorado and Nevada, is executive director of the Nevada Press Association.

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Nevada Press Association

The Nevada Press Association is the formal trade organization for news publications in the state of Nevada. It is a voluntary non-profit organization that represents daily and weekly news publications in Nevada and the Lake Tahoe region of Northern California, as well as online news services, magazines and others. The history of NPA dates back to 1865, when an association of Nevada newspapers was first organized. In 1924, the organization officially became the Nevada State Press Association after a journalism professor at the University of Nevada, Reno spearheaded a final reorganization campaign.

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The NPA is dedicated to representing the common interests of Nevada newspapers, furthering the public's right to know through an understanding that strong newspapers (protected by the First Amendment) are the cornerstone of a democratic society, promoting a closer fellowship within the newspaper fraternity, encouraging the elevation of journalistic standards and promoting the value of newspaper advertising.